"One witness at first thought the man was bleeding from the chest after seeing liquid shooting out from that area of the body, but later realized it was beer, not blood, squirting from cans inside his jacket," police spokesman Joel DeSpain said in a news release.

That somewhat humorous description of events reminded me of the not-so funny facts about alcohol and crashes involving bicylists.

Roughly 24% of the 630 cyclists killed in roadway collisions in 2009 had blood-alcohol levels of 0.08 or higher, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Alcohol was a factor in 40% of the fatalities, when the motorists are factored into the numbers.

In 33% of the crashes, either the motorist or the bicyclist had a blood-alcohol level high enough to be intoxicated, according to the standard of 0.08.

Obviously the beer did not survive. The report indicates beer was oozing from his chest where he had stashed some beer cans. The cans must have ruptured either from the crash or when the cyclist inevitably hit the pavement after.

> since when to you need a valid driver's license to operate a bicycle?

Since repubs, rad-righty-wingnuts and religious freakes everywhere decided that indepence, free-will and heavenly rewards DEMAND government control over essentially everything and everyone, virtually all the time (except for themselves).

.26 makes it pretty hard to stay up on two wheels. Maybe he was using the beers in his jacket as a protective vest in case he fell, or in case he was stranded with nothing to drink for minutes, maybe hours...

What I would like to know is why the bicyclist wasn't charged with DUI? We always hear how bike riders have the same right to the road as drivers and they are expected to follow the same rules of the road as drivers. Well, if I was in a car accident and my BAC was 0.26%, I sure as heck would have been arrested and charged. I'm getting sick of the double-standards and recklessness of bicyclists blowing through stop signs and stop lights, swerving from lane to lane, and now riding drunk, all without any repercussions. If I were to start blowing through stop lights on my motorcycle, I would be pulled over instantly and probably given 2 or 3 citations.

I thought one could ride a bike after getting a DUI. I see people like this on the road. But a driver's license is for motorized vehicles only? How can you apply that same penalty to a bicyclist. Chances are it's all they had left to get around or show up for work.

You are correct Micheal. One can ride their bicycle after being convicted of a DUI. We all see the obvious ones out there, and thankfully they still have an option to get to work and attempt a normal life.

Bicyclists can and do get stopped by the police. The Appleton, Wis. Police Dept. was agressive in stopping bicyclists in the first half of the 1980s for running stop signs, riding on the College Ave. sidewalks downtown, riding no handed, running red lights, riding double, etc. Appleton even went so far as to allow non-sworn civilian service officers, usually police science students at Fox Valley Technical College, drive around in Jeeps stopping bicyclists as if they had a quota to fill. Any one remember a few years ago when a young man about 18 or 19, who wasn't supposed to possess a gun, shot two Milwaukee Police officers on South Second Street? He had just been stopped for riding on the sidewalk, which apparently is illegal citywide in Milwaukee. Interestingly I seldom see cops stopping bicyclists for it on Water Street, State Street and other downtown streets. Perhaps it's a case of the Milwaukee police are generally too busy with more serious crimes to handle bicycle violations.

I think another reason some police departments may not issue traffic tickets to bicyclists is a bicycle does not weigh two tons or more, nor is it capable of going 75 mph or more let alone causing the potential death and destruction of a car, light truck or SUV. And I suspect many officers probably feel the amount of the fine and points that comes with a traffic violation is too much punishment for the offense done by a bicyclist. That's one reason some cities and villages have specific bicycle ordinances which carry lower fines and no points for violations. Also as another person mentioned, no license is required to ride a bike and in fact those who've lost their drivers license for whatever reason, even OWI, can still ride a bike.

Watch the looney-tunes, "fixie" bikers race down the hills in SF, blowing every light, daring the busses and cable cars to crunch 'em, oblivious to the pedestrians and kids they're side swiping and nearly obliterating.

200 pounds racing downhill at 30-40 MPH can kill somebody, and not just the bicyclist.

Bikes are a valid (and healthy) transportation option. As with the other options, people who ride them can make dumb choices. Sorry, but that doesn't mean we should stop riding. Even on the Hoan bridge, once traffic engineers create a bike corridor there. I've biked across the Golden Gate Bridge in a dedicated bike lane. Why not the Hoan?